34. This Is Simple

34

THIS IS SIMPLE

" Y ou're joking right?" Andi asked Jack later that night. She hadn't expected he would have called her when she'd been texting him earlier.

He was complaining about the weather getting warm already and missing the snow in Denver. He'd liked it there too and she only wanted to tease him about the better weather here.

The news that he was transferring to Boston in two weeks was a complete shock.

"I'm not," Jack said. "I told you I was going to look into it. I did. They had an opening now. Who knows if they will again or not anytimesoon?I didn't want to lose the opportunity."

She ground her teeth. "You mean the opportunity to keep an eye on me?" she asked. "You keep telling me everything is fine and I've got Jarrett now. Or is that the problem? You don't like that?"

"I'm fine with it," Jack said.

"Then there is something going on with the Dustin Family and you're keeping me in the dark like you've done before?"

She hated that her voice broke when she asked that question. Even though she accused him of something, she never thought he'd lie to her before and yet he did.

"I didn't lie to you, Andi. Never. Colleen," he said. He never called her that. Ever. Not since he put her in the safe house. "I gave my word to you and your father. I'll do what I need to to protect you, but I won't lie. If I can't tell you something, then I'll tell you that exactly. What you think was a lie was something I didn't share with you about your father, but it didn't change the outcome of anything."

She started to cry. "I'm not Colleen anymore. I never will be. Don't call me that. Please."

She heard Jack sigh. "I'm sorry. I'm trying to get you to understand. I'm moving fora number ofreasons and told you them all."

She wanted to believe him, but the other part of her worried this was going to cause issues in her relationship with Jarrett. Maybe the two men in her life had come to an understanding but putting them this close to each other might break that.

"It's just so soon. And sudden."

"I told you I was going to look into it," Jack argued. "Is Jarrett there?"

"He's on his way," she said. "He got held up. And now I'm going to have to tell him this."

There was silence on the other end. "He knows," Jack said.

"What!? You told him before me?" She turned and saw Jarrett walk in the door. He had a key because the one day she left it unlocked knowing he was on the way he flipped out on her. She'd never seen him so angry before.

Maybe she was letting her guard down and shouldn't have, but she couldn't help it. This place just felt like...home.

Jarrett cringed. "Is that Jack?"

"It is," she said. "He just told me that you knew the news he's breaking to me. I want to know why?"

"Finish your conversation with him and then we'll talk," Jarrett said.

"Oh," she said. "It's going to be that way? More men telling me what to do?"

"Hey now," Jack said. "No one is telling you what to do like you think. And didn't you tell me that you loved that Jarrett was so protective like your father?"

Andi turned her head to see Jarrett taking his boots off and hanging his jacket up.

"Yes," she said.

"Then stop. Be mad at me but not him. He didn't do anything wrong."

"Why did you call him and tell him first?"

"Maybe I needed some help with this."

"Help to tell me orcalmme?" she asked.

"Both," Jack said. "I don't want you to think there is any reason other than a promise to your father and for myownpeace of mind. There is no danger and I thought you'd appreciate that I called to assure him too."

She couldn't fault Jack for that when he explained it that way.

"I hate how reasonable you're sounding."

"Because it's the truth. Listen, Andi. Nothing about your life in the past two and half years is simple or easy. But this, this is simple. No one is lying to you and everyone is trying to keep your interests in mind. I'm not going to just show up and surprise you. I learned my lesson last time. There is no bridge for me to cross to get there either. With the time it would take me to get through Boston traffic, then catch a ferry and unload a car. Consider me hours away."

He made a point. He could get a helicopter over if he had to and she knew that.

"You're not going to show up without telling me first?" she asked.

"No," Jack said. "I promise. Go talk to Jarrett. Call me later if you want. Or text me. I'll be around."

"Bye," she said and hung up.

She turned to see Jarrett on the couch. He lifted his palms in surrender. "I'm not happy to be in the middle of this, but I appreciate that he called me. You can be mad at him, but it was out of my control. He wanted to ease my mind that there was no threat. The last thing I want is a fight with you while I put a front line of troopers on the docks if I'm not informed of what could be happening."

She saw the grin on his face but knew he wasn't joking. "I know it's not your fault. I'm not mad at you that you knew first. I'm just annoyed over this whole situation. I feel like I'll never have any control or say over anything in my life again."

"That's not true," he said. "All of us are answerable to someone in our life. No one just does what they want. There are rules and laws in society for a reason. This is just an extra layer in your life."

"It's more than an extra layer and you know that," she said. You could put all the sugar you wanted on a lemon, but it would still make you pucker when it hit your tongue.

"You're right," he said. "But there isn't anything anyone can do about it now. Or we are doing what we can. Do you trust me?"

"Yes," she said.

"Do you trust Jack?"

"I used to," she said.

"No," he said. "Don't hold it against him what he told you about your father. I'm not saying this for anything other than I believe it. If I were in his shoes, I might have made the same call. He was grieving your father with you. He was blaming himself on top of it and now he had to protect you. He had a lot on his shoulders. Telling you what he did would have put guilt on your shoulders. Maybe he couldn't handle it anymore. Or maybe he didn't want you to feel what he was."

The tears were rolling down her cheeks.

"I didn't think of it that way."

"There is no right or wrong answer here," he said softly. "It's what someone did at the time, and looking back and having doubts doesn't change anything about where we are right now."

She ground her teeth. "I don't like how reasonable you are."

"Yes, you do," he said. "I believe him when he says there is no danger, but trust me when I tell you, I'll be the first that has to know if there is. Before you."

"Not what I want to hear," she said.

"That's just too bad," he said. "It's a fact. Sometimes ignorance is bliss and you don't need that worry."

"But I don't want you to have it alone either. Don't do that to me, Jarrett. Promise me right now. If you love me as much as I love you, you won't shoulder it by yourself. People who love each other do it together. Support and comfort each other. If what you're saying is true that Jack couldpossiblynot want me to feel what he did, then I don't want you to do it either."

"I can't promise you something that I don't know I can deliver, Andi," he said quietly.

"So you'd lie to me?"

"No," he said. "But if I keep something from you for yourowngood and because I have to for my job to keep everyone safe, then that is what I'm doing. If you ask me a direct question that I can't answer, you'll know I can't. It's no different than when we started to date. I asked you things you couldn't say."

"But I said enough that you could figure it out without me saying it. I did that because I can't lie. I didn't want to hurt you. I knew I was falling for you and it didn't sit right with me to not be honest."

"Then trust I'll do the same thing with you if it ever comes about."

Andi moved into his arms and held him because it felt like the only thing she had complete control over in her life.

"I guess it's all I can do," she said. "That's the only reason Jack called you?"

"He might have wanted me to assure you that he's not going to just drop in."

"He said it's not a fast trip," she said.

"It's not. And you two have to work that out, but I think he was just as embarrassed over finding me here as you were."

She knew that. Jack had finally admitted it to her, but she didn't share that with Jarrett.

"I don't know how I feel about him being this close," she said. "He has no one in his life. For a solidyearwe only had each other. All the holidays we spent together. I'm going to feel bad if he's sitting in a tiny apartment by himself while I'm with you and your family."

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," he said. "If he's invited here, my family will welcome him. Or we could go to Boston. You're worrying over little things."

"It seems like the little things are all I can make decisions on," she said, forcing a laugh.

"One day at a time," he said. "Jack asked if I could give him recommendations to places. I reached out to Drew andtoldhimyourcousin was moving to Boston and if he knew of any places."

"Now Amanda will know," she said.

"Since Jack came here so fast when you got hurt, I don't think anyone is going to question a thing. You're reading a lot more into it than others will. Someone being in Witness Protection doesn't happen often and most people don't even think about it."

"I know," she said. "I've never said what my father did for a living. I mean I said he was in law enforcement but not a US Marshal."

"Don't create questions or problems where none exist," he said.

"I'll try," she said. "I guess this is why you wanted to come over tonight? Not to see me?"

"I always want to see you," he said. "But Jack did ask if we were going to be together and if I could be around when he called. I got held up. He called earlier than I thought."

"At least you're honest," she said, laughing.

"Always," he said, kissing her. "Don't ever forget it."

"I won't."

Because like everything else in the past two years, she didn't have much of a choice. If she didn't trust him, she'd feel like everything she lived was a lie and she couldn't survive believing that.